


Come take a bite

by ukyoish



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Bisexual Asagiri Gen, Blood, Blood Drinking, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Gay Ishigami Senkuu, Gen is a confident gay, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Mentions of sex work, Mild enemies to lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other additional characters to be added, Senku is a gay panicked mess, Senku needs a hug, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Vampire Asagiri Gen, Vampire Bites, spoilers in tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:00:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28750338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukyoish/pseuds/ukyoish
Summary: Gen is the popular boy of university and Senku can't seem to figure out how the hell his tricks work.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 20
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Is so good to be back!
> 
> This story is currently being published on my twitter account, @ukyoish. I write every part on the spot, so this is definitely not one of the best pieces I've ever written, but I still want to post it here since I'm having so much fun writing it. (The story definitely picks up after a few chapters, so please be patient).
> 
> Also, Dr. stone season 2 is out today!!!! So I'm posting this to commemorate that. 
> 
> Hope you like this first chapter and I'll try updating my best to update regularly!
> 
> For updates and other things, check out my twitter @ukyoish

"Did you see it?" Taiju asked, his eyes wide open and his whole face _beaming_ with excitement. 

"See what?" Senku asked distractedly, checking all the people walking in and out of the main hall. 

"All the freshmen! We're going to have so much fun and meet so many new people!"

"Yeah, yeah, I guess so." Senku sighed, checking the time once again. 

When was this going to end? Not only had he sat through a _two-hour_ long welcome event, but now they wanted to give everyone a campus tour.

He should've just skipped the first day. This was a _nightmare_.

"All the freshmen please, follow us!" The professor's voice made everyone start walking out of the building, the blond scowling at the crowd. _Too many_ people. 

"We should stay at the end of the line." He mumbled to Taiju, who apparently had other plans; before he could say anything else, his best friend gripped his arm and yanked him outside the building, following the crowd of new students. They were all awkwardly staring at each other, and it was _uncomfortable_. 

"The campus looks so beautiful, doesn't it? I'm so happy I decided to come here with you." 

Senku didn't reply, just hummed in agreement, trying his best not to get swept away from Taiju by the crowd. 

They had been walking all over campus for half an hour or so, the blond starting to feel the effects of not exercising whatsoever during the summer when—

"What's happening there?" A random girl's question made him shift his attention to the entrance of the science building, only to find a huge group of people gathered around _something_. 

"No idea. Maybe someone has died." The other girl sounded completely uninterested, but her words were enough for Senku to turn around and glare at them. 

"Kohaku! Don't say those things." The brunette girl softly slapped her arm, making the other smile. 

"I'm kidding, Yuzuriha! Obviously they wouldn't be so _amused_ to see someone die in the middle of campus.”

" _Kohaku_." 

The blonde girl chuckled, raising her arms in defence. "I'm sorry."

Senku was going to look back at the group gathered a few meters away from them when Taiju tugged on his sleeve insistently.

"I think I've fallen in love." He half-whispered, half-screamed, and Senku was about to ask who, because _that_ was definitely something interesting, when two girls that had been around the group of people walked past them. 

"Asagiri Gen is just _that_ cool all the time, huh?" She sighed dreamily, and the blond frowned. What was all the fuss about?

"We should definitely go to his magic show next week. Do you think—?" 

He was pulled out of the conversation when Taiju shook his shoulders, making him switch his attention back to him. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, yes, I heard you. Who is it?" Senku smiled amused when his best friend blushed and slightly tilted his head towards the two girls that had been bickering a few minutes before. 

The blond raised his eyebrows, definitely surprised by that new information, since the girl really didn't seem like someone Taiju would like, but oh well.

"I didn't think you'd be attracted to the whole 'bad girl' thingy." Senku said amused, stepping away from his friend and subtly looking at the two girls.

"'Bad girl? What are you talking about? She looks so soft and kind, and her smile is so pretty it could light up the world."

But Senku wasn't really listening to his best friend's words, too distracted by the crowd of people still surrounding _someone_ , laughing and gasping from time to time. 

_Magic_. Sure thing. He'd love to see it just to find all the tricks behind it. 

But before he could suggest Taiju to walk closer to the circle of people, the professor guiding them through campus started walking again, and the blonde was just forced to let himself be guided away from the science building.

He should've _definitely_ skipped the first day.

———

Turns out the second day was also _horrible_ , but for completely different reasons. 

"Hey," A random boy sat down next to him, smiling wide —and falsely.

"Hi." Senku mumbled, eyes fixed on the syllabus in front of him, trying to figure out which books he had already read and which he hadn't. 

"I heard you had the highest score on the entrance exams, congratulations." _That_ made the blond turn to look at him, a small scowl forming in his lips.

"Who told you?" He asked bluntly, not caring much about the way the boy widened his eyes intimidated. 

"Well, you know, it was the talk of today, I guess everyone is excited to have someone like you in their—" His voice trailed off when Senku turned back to his syllabus, not caring anymore about what he said. 

Probably Taiju. He was more excited about his marks than the blond himself. 

"If you want someone who will tutor you for free and help you with exams, I'm not the right one." 

The boy gaped at him for a few seconds. "I didn't—" He stopped when Senku glared at him again, smiling.

"You _did_. Now can you leave me alone?"

That boy wasn't the only one that approached Senku that day, and by the end of his classes —which had all been boring introductions—, he just wanted to go home.

His best friend, on the other hand, had other plans. 

Turns out the girl he'd "fallen in love" with wasn't the blonde from the other day, but her friend, Yuzuriha. 

He'd managed to talk to her by acting as if he was lost on campus —actually, maybe he wasn't acting and he was _really_ lost, who knows— and inviting her to have a coffee when classes finished as a "thank you".

And, obviously, Senku was also dragged to it. 

He was calmly eating a croissant while Yuzuriha and Taiju talked happily, feeling the blonde girl's gaze on him. 

"What?" He looked up at the girl —Kohaku, right?— who was looking at him intently. 

"Top student at the entrance exams, huh?" 

Senku sighed and looked away, annoyed. "It's really not such a big deal, damn." 

"And instead of using it for your advantage and become popular, you wave everyone off." She continued, raising her eyebrows. 

Taiju and Yuzuriha had now fallen silent, waiting for the blond's response, who just snorted. "Why would I want to become popular?" 

Kohaku slightly widened her eyes, confused, before talking again. "Because it's the easy way to get through uni?" 

"Why would it be _easy_?" 

The blonde girl didn't respond, just looked over behind Senku. He turned around, not knowing what to expect exactly, only to find a group of people sitting around a table and all of them looking at a boy. 

He didn't seem older than him, maybe a year or two, with deep blue and sharp eyes that were crinkling every time he smiled, soft, round cheeks and half-black-half-white hair that did stand out _quite a bit_. 

"That's Asagiri Gen, second-year of psychology and top student of last year." 

Senku was still staring at him, concentrated. Where had he heard that name before? He couldn't remember exactly _where_ he'd heard that name, but then— 

Gen looked up, and their eyes met. 

It was as if all the air had been punched out of his lungs, and suddenly his brain remembered.

 _Right_ , the magician. 

Senku huffed and turned back around, as if he hadn't been affected by the boy's gaze on him. 

"Good for him, I guess." He mumbled before continuing to munch on his croissant, and before Kohaku could talk again, Yuzuriha's voice made the three of them look at her. 

"There are some weird rumours about him." 

Taiju frowned, confused. "Weird in what sense?"

"I don't know," Yuzuriha took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "Some people say he just invented this whole personality before coming to uni." 

"Huh," Kohaku mumbled, concentrated. 

"I also heard some girls in our class say he got into university because he was sleeping with a professor."

"That's... disturbing." Senku observed, taking the last bite of his croissant. 

"It's probably just a rumour." Taiju waved it off, turning around slightly just to check Gen. "He seems like any other normal student." 

Kohaku nodded. "Yeah."

———

Senku was _intrigued_. 

Maybe he listened more intently whenever Gen's name was thrown around in a conversation, or made his best to study him every time he saw him around campus, but _that was it_. 

From what he'd gathered, no one really knew which rumours were true and which weren't. He hadn't heard the professor thing since Yuzuriha mentioned it, so that was out of the equation.

Other rumours said that he was part of a European royal family and was there just to study away from the public eye, and even though a quick google search hadn't shown anything in that matter, it was a _possibility_. 

There was also the talk about how all the girls that had slept with him didn't _talk_ about it, which was confusing. Why not? Were they hiding something?

Had he slept with any boys? Not confirmed _yet_.

It was actually not his concern at all, but uni was already boring and he needed something to spice it up, so what if he was interested in a mysterious boy that was popular on campus?

"Gen showed up to one of my classes the other day." Kohaku said, taking a bite of his fries while looking at Senku pointedly. 

"Did he eclipse everyone else with his presence?" The blond snorted, taking one of Kohaku's fries and smiling when the girl pushed the plate away from him annoyed. 

"He didn't say a thing, just paid attention to the professor. Didn't even take notes." 

Senku frowned, confused, but didn't say anything. 

"Maybe he was just there to enjoy the class." Yuzuriha shrugged, not giving it much importance. 

"I've heard he does magic shows at a bar near the city centre. We should go." Senku suggested, looking at his best friend with hope.

"You? A magic show? Are you okay?" Taiju pressed the back of his hand against the blond's forehead, smiling when Senku pulled away with a scowl. "Do you have a fever?"

"I'll _never_ hang out with you ever again." He sighed, taking another one of Kohaku's fries —ignoring the way the blonde girl glared at him. 

"Are you really that curious about Gen?" She asked teasingly, and Senku huffed before looking away. 

"No. I just wanted to see how bad his magic shows are." He lied, shrugging as if actually didn't really care about it.

 _Don't suggest seeing Gen's shows to your friends_. Okay. Noted. 

"There's a girl in my class that dated him for like two days." Kohaku said conversationally, waiting for Senku's reaction. 

"What did she say?" Taiju asked instead, curious. 

"Not much." The blonde girl shrugged, eating one of her fries. "She said he's really different when he's surrounded by people to when he's not." 

"Well, I think that happens to _everyone,_ " Senku said, frowning at Kohaku. 

"But _two days_? It's still super weird."

"Doesn't he live in the student dorms?" Yuzuriha asked. "I'm sure they have a stupid bet of 'how many girls can you date in one year' or something like that." 

Taiju snorted at the comment. "If _I_ dated you, I'd definitely not break up with you _ever_." 

They stayed silent, looking at each other and wildly blushing. Senku and Kohaku exchanged looks, both of them wide-eyed.

"Go figure." The blond said, trying his best not to laugh at his best friend. 

"Anyways," Kohaku continued. "He's _weird_. That's it." 

Senku looked up at her with a smug smile, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

"Maybe the one obsessed with Gen is _you_." He teased. "Do you want to date him?" 

Kohaku snorted, chuckling softly before glaring at the blond. "I'm lesbian, Senku." 

The three of them started laughing, the blond frowning annoyed at them, taking another one of Kohaku's fries before standing up. 

"Okay, bye. I hate you all." 

Taiju tried to grab the blond's wrist, but he was quicker. "Senku come back, don't get angry!" 

"I'm _not_." The blond glared at them one last time before walking out of the cafeteria. 

He was going to step out of the building when he walked past Gen, who was talking with a girl that was leaning _way_ too much towards him not to want anything else. 

Then the boy looked up, and their gazes met once again. 

Senku looked away after a few seconds, picking up his pace and exiting the building as fast as possible. 

Maybe his friends didn't want to go to Gen's "magic" show, but he was going to. 

He was just _too_ intrigued not to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senku attends Gen's show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for not updating this in a few weeks, I've been busy with exams [cries].
> 
> Anyways, I promise I'll try updating a chapter weekly!
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish

Curiosity killed the cat, right? 

At least that's what Senku thought when he entered the bar where Gen was supposedly performing that night, and he found a full-on university party. 

Because yeah, he was definitely going to die. 

Everyone was dancing to obnoxious music, drinks in hand, all of them _pressed together_.

Maybe that's why Gen's performances were so successful. Everyone was too drunk and _high_ on stimuli to even think it was bad. 

He tried his best to stay away from the crowd, leaning against a wall where he had a clear view of the stage, hoping Gen would come out soon. 

Trying his best to hide from the rest of the students in case they went to his class, Senku just stared down at his mobile phone for the fifteen minutes it took for Gen to go out on stage. 

As soon as he stepped into it, everyone fell silent, the music stopping. 

He was wearing a black suit with a red tie, a smug smile on his face and eyes glinting under the lights of the bar when he walked over to the mic and spoke. "Welcome back, darlings." 

Gen's voice was soft, soothing, _charming_ , and was almost drowned by everyone's cheers instantly, making him smile pleased. 

"Let's get the show started, shall we?" His voice had gotten a bit lower, almost as if he was _purring_ , and now Senku understood why so many girls fell head over heels for him. 

He was absolutely _not_ gay panicking right now. 

Sure, there was something about him that made you feel instantly attracted, a kind of _aura_ that just made you want _more_. 

But Senku was sure the magic show was going to be a letdown, so he didn't let his hopes get too high for the time being.

His accent was normal, didn't seem _foreign_ , but the way he moved around the stage to prepare everything... There was something _royal_ to it, and for a second the blond really questioned whether the rumours were true or not. 

Being able to rent a bar every week to perform a magic show with no entrance fee whatsoever seemed unlikely for a second-year psychology student, but well. Maybe his family was filthy rich. 

"Many of you asked me to repeat last week's tricks, so here we are again." He spoke into the mic again, smiling when the crowd cheered excited. 

Senku put his phone back in his pocket, now focusing all of his attention on Gen, who had just finished preparing everything and had walked over to the mic once again. 

"Let the show begin." He whispered, winking at the crowd when they clapped and whistled.

It _was_ quite the show. 

The tricks weren't easy, and the more time he spent looking at him, the more desperate Senku got. Gen was graceful, _fast_ , and most importantly, he was _charming_. 

His main trick was making people look at _him_ and not his hands, but figuring that had been the _easy_ part. 

His hands were skilful, they moved fast, shuffling cards and getting coins out of thin air —he'd rolled his sleeves right when the show started, which was _distracting_ — and when he asked for a volunteer to come out on stage, almost everyone raised their hand excited. 

A random girl from the crowd was picked, a huge smile on her face while she stepped into the stage. 

"You came with you boyfriend, didn't you?" He asked softly, smiling when the girl's eyes widened. 

"How did you...?" Gen waved her question off, gently grabbing her shoulders and guiding her towards a huge box in the middle of the stage. 

"I hope he likes your makeover." He smiled, helping her enter the box before entering it himself. 

Senku could hear people emotionally talking under their breaths or just clapping with excitement, impatient to watch what was going to happen. 

"This is crazy. I still can't understand how he does it." The blond heard a boy whisper, his eyes still fixed on the stage. Gen had closed the box behind him, his voice still heard thanks to the microphone. 

_What the hell was he going to do?_

"Can you give us a quick spin, dear Ukyo?" 

A silver-haired boy, which Senku assumed was Gen's assistant, walked over to the box and made it spin just one time, not too fast but also not _slow_. 

The whole crowd held their breaths, the blonde unconsciously doing it too, until the box was again facing them and Gen opened it to step out, followed by the girl. 

The crowd cheered, but it was as if Senku was miles away from them, too concentrated on the sight in front of him to even _be_ aware of what was happening around him.

 _What_? And most importantly, _how_? 

It had been a quick spin, too quick for the girl —a volunteer, a _random_ girl that he was sure wasn't an actress— to change into a full-on suit, the same Gen was wearing _and_ to have her hair styled differently.

"We're matching now!" He said with a proud smile, and the crowd cheered even _louder_. 

"I still can't understand how he does it." The boy from before mumbled to his friend, watching as the girl stepped down from the stage and walked back to her boyfriend.

Senku couldn't figure it out either. 

So by the time the show finished and everyone was starting to walk out of the bar, he decided to wait instead. 

He needed to talk to Gen, even though he _knew_ it was unlikely that he was going to get the answers he wanted.

Thankfully, it wasn't really cold outside, so even though Senku had to wait for the almost twenty minutes it took Gen to walk out of the bar, he didn't _freeze_ to death. 

What _did_ freeze was his body when he saw the boy step out, suddenly the words dying in his throat.

Gen didn't even _look_ at him at first, calmly walking away from the bar until the blond found the courage to talk, making him halt. 

"Wait! Gen." 

He slowly turned around, looking up and down at Senku before softly smiling. "That's me." 

His voice was still low and silky, but strong enough for Senku to hear it despite their distance. 

The blond reluctantly stepped closer, his eyes fixed on Gen's, which were glinting under the moonlight. "I just— How did you do it?" 

Gen smiled, amused, stepping closer to Senku. "How did I do what?"—

"The trick. I understand you have time for her to change into a suit, but the hair—" 

Gen cut him off, softly chuckling. "Well, it's magic." 

This time the one who chuckled was the blond. "Right. _Magic_." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for Gen to continue, but the boy was just staring at him, smiling amused. 

"You're not going to tell me, right?" Senku asked, folding his arms frustrated. 

"Do you want me to do it with you?" Gen asked with a cocky grin, which only got _wider_ when the blond huffed. 

"Do you tell that to every girl who asks you the same question?" 

Gen _actually_ looked entertained, but Senku wasn't sure if that was because he was making a fool of himself or because he actually liked him. 

"Maybe I do." 

The blond rolled his eyes, sighing, before walking past Gen. "Okay, I'll figure it out on my own, don't you worry, your secret is safe with me..." His voice trailed off when he felt Gen's hand on his shoulder. _How_? He hadn't heard him move and he'd walked at least two meters away from him.

"I can tell you." The boy whispered. Senku instantly turned around, their gazes meeting once again, arms still folded against his chest.

"I'm all ears." 

Gen just stared at his eyes for a few seconds, making him a little bit uncomfortable. It was as if he could even _see_ his soul, as if his eyes had the power of fiddling with his mind—

But he just softly chuckled and shrugged, feigning innocence. "Magic."

Senku squinted his eyes, trying to understand the _joke_. "Yeah. Okay. Bye." He turned around, hurrying away from the boy, this time not letting him stop him. 

Did he feel Gen's gaze on him until he turned the corner? Maybe, and maybe the blond also felt his gaze on him all his way back home, as if Gen had stayed with him like an invisible being that was just tasked with keeping an eye on him. 

_Focus, Senku. Things don't work like that._

He was just a really charming and cunning person that on top of everything studied psychology. It was as if he was _made_ to charm and fool people, and well, he was good at it. 

But Senku knew that he was just a —probably— very rich egocentric bastard who lived off other people's attention. 

And he wasn't going to fall for that, no matter how pretty, charming, intelligent... 

"Okay, no more thinking about Gen ever again." Senku whispered to himself, lying down on his bed and looking at his ceiling. 

But he was still thinking about the trick. How the hell had he managed to do that? 

Abruptly sitting up, the blond took his laptop before opening youtube and searching "clothing magic tricks". 

He didn't really know what to expect, but videos on how to cut clothing with patterns or how to dye it wasn't one of them. 

After more than an hour searching on the internet, Senku was just too tired and frustrated to even _continue_ searching. He turned off his computer and lied back down on his bed, sighing frustrated. 

Maybe he needed to attend another one of Gen's shows to _figure it out_. 

Yeah. That's what he needed to do.

———

Not saying a word to his friends about Gen's magic show was _hard_ , but the blond didn't want to make a fool of himself at least until he'd figure out how the hell his magic tricks worked. 

He only had to wait a week for the next show. It was easy. He'd always been a patient person, he _could_ wait. 

Except no, he couldn't. 

Taiju didn't really notice it —unsurprisingly—, but the blonde knew Kohaku could feel the way he _buzzed_ with curiosity every time they saw Gen or they even _talked_ about him. 

"Okay, spill," She said while they were walking back from biology class and bumped into Gen.

Even though Senku _knew_ it was obvious, he still played clueless. 

"Spill what?" 

"Why the hell are you so obsessed with him?" 

"I'm not!" 

"Do you like him?" Kohaku asked, still not believing his whole act.

"Kohaku, I don't even like _men_ —" 

He was interrupted by her chuckle. "Oh really?" 

The blond's shoulders slumped. "Did Taiju tell you?" 

"Yeah." 

"I should cut off that himbo's tongue before it's too late." 

Kohaku laughed, ignoring her friend's annoyance. "I would've figured it out sooner or later, you know." 

"Yeah, I'm sure about that." He said sarcastically, ignoring the way she glared at him. 

"So, do you like him?" Kohaku insisted.

"Do I have to like him to be interested in him? Aren't you curious to know if all those rumours are true or not?"

Kohaku stayed silent for a moment, _actually_ thinking about it. 

"Well, not really." 

"Well—" Senku groaned, pushing his hair out of his face. " _I am._ " 

"And how are you going to figure it out?" She asked before they entered the building, holding the door open for him. 

"Why do you care so much?" 

"I'm just _curious_ , I guess." She shrugged. 

"Curious about what?" The blond asked, confused. 

"Well, you seemed so _cold_ and _distant_ the first day and now you practically _vibrate_ with excitement every time you see Gen,—”

" _Hey_ ," Senku complained, glaring at her. 

"It just makes me _wonder_ , that's all." 

The blond huffed. "If you think I'm falling in love with him or something—" 

"Ah! I'm late for class!" Kohaku cut him off, smiling amused when the blond _hissed_ at her annoyed. "I'll see you later." 

Senku was left alone with the words still unsaid, groaning frustrated —which gained him a few weird looks, but _whatever_ — before turning around and walking towards his next class, his brain processing his talk with Kohaku. 

He was just _curious_ , nothing more.

Sure, Gen was _attractive_ , intelligent and definitely _mysterious_ , but that didn't mean he liked him or anything. 

He wasn't even his type. 

Okay, maybe that was a bit of a _stretch_ , but from what Senku had heard Gen was definitely, totally straight. 

Nothing he cared about in the first place. 

It was Wednesday. He just had to wait two more days until Gen's next show, and then he'd just have to _pay close attention_ to the tricks, not him.

If he still couldn't figure it out, he'd just wait outside until Gen came out like last time to ask how his tricks worked, and if he didn't get an answer for a second time around— 

Maybe it would be time to give up on trying to figure it out. 

And that would be pretty much the end of it. Gen would still feel like a fictional being, and Senku... 

Well. He'd go back to his boring, uneventful life. 

The thing was, Senku had never had _crushes_ before. He didn't even know how it should feel. 

Did he get butterflies when thinking about Gen? No, not really. 

Had he almost lost his shit when they had been talking that night? Well, yes, but anyone in his situation would've, a hundred percent. 

Was he excited to see Gen perform on Saturday once again? He'd be lying if he said he _wasn’t_. 

Was he crushing on him, though? 

He could ask Taiju, but that bastard would tell _everyone_ in less than an hour, so he wasn't a reliable option for the moment. 

Kohaku? She would make fun of him until his _death_ , repeating over and over again "I called it" as if that would answer Senku's question. 

His only options were either Yuzuriha or his father, but he wasn't out to his family _yet_ , so actually, there wasn't much of an _option_ there. 

**_Hey, can we talk when you finish this class?_ ** He texted Yuzuriha, anxiously checking his phone every time he got a notification and getting frustrated when it wasn't her. 

**_I have a doctor's appointment after this, can't we talk tomorrow? Is it something important?_ **

Senku stared at the screen for a few seconds, rereading the message a few times before replying. 

**_VERY important._ **

He could see Yuzuriha had read it, but she wasn't responding, and the blond was about to tell her to forget he'd ever said anything in the first place when— 

**_Okay. Meet me in front of the History building in 30._ **

Relief washed over him for a brief second, only to be replaced with anxiety the next. 

What was he going to _say_? "Hey, I think I have a crush on Asagiri Gen, but I've never really had a crush and I've only known I like men for a few months so I don't have any experience and since you also like men (Taiju specifically), I thought you could tell me how it feels or at least confirm whether this is a crush or not, because I'm kinda losing my mind here and I don't want him to think I'm a stalker or something like that, but—" 

Yuzuriha was _definitely_ going to slap him. 

He spent the rest of his class pondering _what the hell_ was he going to tell her, and by the time he'd made his way down to the main exit he saw Gen talking with some girls, and the gay panic started _all over again_. 

"Okay, what did you want to tell me?" Yuzuriha said as soon as Senku walked over to her, arms folded against her chest and a frown on her face.

"Well, I—" 

"You...?" She continued, confused by the way his voice had trailed off at the end.

"The thing is..." Senku rocked back on his heels, trying to find the words. 

It was better to just _say it_. 

"I think I have a crush on someone but I've never had a crush on anyone before so I was hoping you could help me figure it out." He exhaled all at once, internally cringing when Yuzuriha chuckled. 

"Oh my god, that's cute. Taiju told me once you're like a block of ice that isn't attracted to anything but science." 

"I'm not—" The blonde whimpered, covering his face with his hands.

"He even told me once that when he was younger he legitimately thought you _jerked off_ to science—" 

"Oh, fuck off." Senku cut her off, groaning before glaring at her. "Thanks for your help, Yuzuriha. I'll ask my father or some random person on the internet because you all are _bad friends_." He turned around with the intention of walking away from her and hiding in a ditch until everyone forgot he _existed_ , but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

"You can tell me everything if you walk me to the train station." Yuzuriha said, looking at the blond _finally_ in all seriousness. 

"Okay," Senku sighed, even though the prospect of missing his next class didn't sound too appealing. "But please, don't laugh at me." 

"I won't." Yuzuriha said with a smile, walking alongside the blond. 

"You already _did_ ." He reminded her, still a bit bitter about it —he really, _really_ needed to tell Taiju he couldn't go telling girls _everything_ that crossed his mind. 

"Why do you think you have a crush?" Yuzuriha asked, ignoring Senku's comment, while hooking one of his arms around the blonde's. 

"Well, I think about them _a lot,_ " Senku started, trying not to cringe at his words. "And I want to know _more_ about them…” 

"Do you think they're attractive?" The brunette girl asked, looking at him. 

"Of course—" He stopped himself before he said something embarrassing. "I mean, _objectively_ , they are a really attractive person." 

"I didn't think Gen could ever possibly be your type—" She started laughing when Senku _sprang_ away from her, horrified.

"I didn't say it was him!" 

"You didn't _need_ to." Yuzuriha said, still laughing. 

"I hate you all so much!" 

Yuzuriha tried her best to hold her laugh and grabbed Senku's arm again, getting his attention. "It may not be a crush, that's only something _you'll_ know. Maybe you're just too interested in the personality that's built around him." 

The blond nodded, attentively listening to her. 

"You can't _truly_ like someone you don't know, okay? Whatever your brain has created isn't Gen, so don't get your expectations too _high_ —" She stopped when they arrived at the station, turning around to look at him. "I know you're not going to listen to my advice much and your brain is working at 100km per hour every time you think about him so just... Take it easy. You don't need answers right now. You haven't spoken to him even _once_." 

"Right." Senku lied, pursing his lips. 

"I have to go." She sighed, looking at him with slight worry on her face. "If you need anything just text me, okay?" 

"Will do." The blond said, watching her walk away before turning around and making his way back to campus. 

He hadn't gathered _a thing_ from that talk, so he didn't have many options as of now.

Senku just had to wait until Friday night to see Gen. 

_Then_ , he'd decide whether he had a crush or not. 

Yeah. That was the plan. Go see him, talk to him, figure out his feelings. 

He'd already done it before. What could possibly go wrong the second time around?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is already +80K... nervous laughter
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A weird surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you like it. The au is already +90K words, which makes it the longest sengen fic... Nervously laughs.
> 
> Like I said before, this au is being written on twitter on the spot, so it's really not something mindblowing, but I'm kinda proud of it!
> 
> If you want to know about newer updates or other things, follow me on twitter! @ukyoish

"How's university going?" Byakuya's voice made him look up from his food, munching on it for a few seconds before replying. 

"Good, I guess. Not much happens." 

_Nothing apart from me gay panicking every time I see a possible royal family descendant that also does magic shows. Could you believe it? I have a crush on a magician. Me, a scientist. By the way, have I ever told you I'm gay?_

Definitely not something you tell your father while you're both eating leftover pizza from last night and watching a documentary about how pandas reproduce. 

Also, telling his father about his sexuality wasn't an option _just yet_ because he didn't know how he was going to react. 

It's not that Senku wasn't sure whether Byakuya's reaction was going to be good or not —it was _definitely_ going to be good, he just was scared of how _enthusiastic_ Byakuya was going to be about it.

Because the blond _knew_ the moment he said it, his father was going to go crazy over it.

He was definitely going to change his Facebook status from "Father" to "Father of my GAY son!!!🏳️🌈", and then the worst was going to come. 

The sex-ed talks. 

They had started when Senku was nine or ten and had _obviously_ started asking things, and they had never stopped since.

Byakuya told him almost the same thing every year, just adding something new every time. 

The thing was, he'd always focused on _straight sex_ , so Senku had always been able to disassociate from it a bit, but the moment his father found out... 

It was all going to get so much worse. 

"Haven't you met any girls at uni?" Byakuya pulled him away from his train of thought. The blond silently thanked him for it, because he had started to imagine him trying to explain _gay sex_ and... 

No. No. Definitely _no_.

"Yuzuriha, Taiju's crush, and her friend Kohaku." 

Senku knew his father well enough to understand what he wanted to ask when he raised his eyebrows. 

"She's not straight, dad. She likes women." 

"Ooohhh..." Byakuya nodded, taking a bite of his pizza before talking again. "Do you think she'd like to come to watch rugby with me some time then?"

"Does _every_ lesbian have to like rugby?" Senku asked, frowning.

"Well, some of them do!" His father shrugged.

The blond sighed. Worst of all, Kohaku _had_ been looking into getting into the rugby team. "I'll invite her over some time. You can bond over whatever you want." 

"Do you like her?" 

"As a friend? Sure." 

"No— I mean..." Byakuya left the question unfinished on purpose, waiting for Senku to just _reply_.

"No." 

"You just seemed distracted, that's all."

"I'm not." 

"You _definitely_ are." He sounded serious now, which only made it worse. 

"I'm just having a hard time adapting to university life, okay?" He lied, rubbing his face frustrated. 

"Senku, if you want to change universities or degrees—"

The blond interrupted him almost immediately. "It's not that. Believe me. I'm happy." 

"Good," Byakuya's shoulders relaxed again. "Then what is it?" 

"I don't know."

He said, sighing —he was getting better at acting. "I'll tell you when I figure it out, okay?" 

His father looked confused, but he didn't push. "Of course. Take your time." 

They stayed silent, watching the documentary. 

"Actually, pandas—" 

"No sex ed today." Senku cut him.

———

It was Friday. _Finally_. 

And Senku was _so_ damn nervous. 

He was aware everyone could sense he was overly excited about something, like an overeager puppy that can't stop wagging his tail, but he just _couldn't relax_. 

It was as if tonight he was going to figure out the biggest secret he'd encountered in his life, and he just _couldn't wait_. 

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Kohaku asked, trying to understand why the blond was just so _restless_. 

Senku looked at her with a forced smile. "Rugby day with my father." He lied almost instantly —he'd previously thought out his answers in case someone asked him. 

Kohaku raised her eyebrows, staying silent for a few seconds before talking. "...There aren't any matches today that I know of." 

"Oh— Yeah. We are rewatching last year's finals." He glanced away, knowing the blonde girl was going to find out if she saw the way he was blushing now.

"Right," Kohaku sighed, not totally buying it. "Yuzuriha and Taiju are hanging out together, so I guess I'll just spend another afternoon alone."

"Why don't you just get a girlfriend?"

Senku asked, looking back at her. 

"Oh? I'm sorry, mister I-have-a-hundred-boyfriends, please show me your ways of courtship." The blonde girl said bitterly, smiling when Senku scowled. 

"Brat." 

"I'm tired of spending my weekends alone." 

"Get new friends, then. No one's stopping you." Senku shrugged, jumping back when Kohaku reached to slap his arm. 

"I don't want new friends, I want you all to hang out with /me/."

"Okay, okay." The blond groaned, brushing his hair out of his face. "How about tomorrow?" 

Kohaku's face lit up. "Really?"

"Sure, I don't have any plans anyways." 

"Okay! Can we go to a coffee shop I've been wanting to go to for months?" The blonde girl said excited.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you want." 

He couldn't even think about the _next day_. Senku was just too excited for that night.

———

He had carefully chosen his outfit, but not _too_ carefully. Just enough for him to look casual but at the same time _good_ , which he was proud of. 

Thankfully his father was too busy working and hadn't seen him, or he would've asked why the hell Senku had put on something that wasn't a hoodie for once. 

The train ride there was spent with him _overthinking_ , trying to remember everything that had happened on last week's show to ignore those details. 

And wondering what the hell he was going to tell Gen later. Maybe invite him to a drink? Senku was a light drinker, though, so maybe that wouldn't be the greatest idea. 

Okay. Whatever. He'd figure it out later. 

He made his way to the line of people waiting to be let in, checking his phone —and ignoring Kohaku's messages asking which match he was watching with his dad, too anxious to answer. 

It was going to go fine, just like last Friday. Maybe Gen changed some of the tricks, but that would only make the magic show even more interesting.

He was the next in line, and Senku was fighting back the nerves fluttering in his stomach when

"ID?"

"I— What?" Senku asked, looking up at the security guard confused. 

"Your identity card, kid. Are you deaf?" 

It took the blond a few seconds to respond, patting his pockets until he found his wallet. "Yes, yes— I'm sorry." 

He handed his ID to the guard, who frowned.

"Senku Ishigami?" He read, looking at the ID picture before looking back at him. 

"Yeah." 

"I'm sorry, you can't enter." The security guard said, giving his card back to the blond. 

"Excuse me?" Senku asked, _actually_ offended. 

"Sorry. Orders from the artist."He shrugged, not looking sorry _at all_. 

"Has the artist _personally_ banned me?" Senku asked, feeling a mix of emotions bubble in his chest all at once. 

"Get over it, kid. You're making other people wait." 

The blond didn't actually want to get his ass kicked, so he just stepped aside, trying to understand what he'd just been told.

Gen had banned him from his shows.

 _Banned_. Him. Personally. 

For a second he decided to just find a way to sneak in, but he _really_ didn't want to make a fool of himself even further, so he just turned around and walked away, sulking all his way home. 

And wondering _what the hell_ had he done wrong. 

Were the rumours that said Gen could read minds true so he'd spent the whole week hearing him internally scream every time they saw each other?

Had he really not liked him at all last Friday?

Had he said anything _wrong_? 

The blond thanked the gods for arriving home to his father already sleeping soundly, because he definitely wasn't feeling like talking with anyone right now. 

He changed into his pyjamas in silence, slipping into bed and trying not to overthink much. 

It wasn't working. 

Did Gen simply not like him? No, if it was that simple he wouldn't go that far as to _banning_ him. 

Was it Senku? Was something wrong with him? 

The blond sat up on the bed and turned on the light, studying his reflection in the mirror.

Okay, maybe he wasn't the /prettiest/ out there. His hair was untameable —really, even though the blond made an effort for it to stay _down_ , he couldn't fight its spiky nature at all—, his eyes had always been described as "unsettling", a deep crimson that he had always hated, and even though his father tried to remind him not to, he spent most of his day frowning at everything because _that was just his resting face_. 

Maybe Gen just felt unsettled by his appearance —hurtful, but comprehensible. 

Though he still was feeling _horrible_ about it.

Would someone really go out there to ban someone else just because of their looks? 

Maybe Gen was more of a self-centered bastard than he'd previously thought. 

Taking a deep breath, Senku grabbed his mobile phone and texted Kohaku. 

**_Do you think I'm handsome?_ **

She was going to laugh at him, but _whatever_. 

Senku almost jumped out of bed when his phone chimed at her response, grabbing his phone again to read it.

**_Yeah. Why?_ **

**_Be honest._ **

**_I am, Senku. Did something happen?_ **

Should he tell her? It would be embarrassing, but he needed to know what other people thought about it. 

And he really hoped Kohaku understood what he was feeling right now, or he was going to combust. 

He couldn't stop thinking this was somehow his fault, and it was horrible.

**_I'll tell you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight._ **

**_Okay. Sleep well._ **

He lied back in bed and turned off the light, staring at the darkness for a few minutes before closing his eyes. 

Whatever. _Fuck Gen_. It was just a stupid crush, he was bound to get over it sooner or later.

But why did it still hurt so much then?

———

"So, how did Gen's show go?" Kohaku asked as soon as Senku settled with his cup of coffee at the table, not even flinching when the blond glared at her. 

"You knew?" 

"It was quite obvious." 

Senku groaned, taking a sip of his coffee to avoid having to talk. He was still feeling an unwanted pressure on his chest, but he was sure it'd eventually go away. 

"I went last week too." He finally said, not looking at his friend, embarrassed. 

"Oh?" 

"It was— Amazing, I don't know. For a second I bought into it." His breath hitched, hesitating whether or not to tell her what had happened after. "And we talked." He exhaled all at once, as if keeping it secret had been a torture. 

"What did you two talk about?" Kohaku asked, curious. 

"I don't know, it was weird. As if he was toying with me or something." 

"And you were completely smitten." 

"Yes." 

Kohaku hummed taking a sip of her coffee, waiting for the blond to talk again. "What happened yesterday?" She prompted.

Senku was still not looking at her, his gaze fixed on a random spot of the table.

He was so pathetic. _This_ was so pathetic.

"He has banned me from his shows." 

"What?!" The blonde girl exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat. 

"Yeah," Senku whispered softly, toying with his spoon. 

It was so stupid. He shouldn't care so much, but still—

"Why?" Kohaku's voice was softer now, laced with worry.

"I don't know." He shrugged, finally looking at her.

She was frowning, probably concentrated on some thought. "Well, whatever his reasons are, _fuck him_." 

"Yeah." 

"And if he ever dares to even _look_ at you, I'll personally kick his fucking ass until that pretentious face of his is all messed up and ugly."

Senku couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "God, no."

He smiled at her when she grabbed his hand over the table, softly squeezing it. 

"You'll get the _hottest_ boyfriend in our university and he'll wonder why did he ban you from his shit shows."

"And you'll get a girlfriend and finally stop complaining about not having anyone to hang out with?" He laughed when Kohaku slapped his hand, pulling it away. 

"I will." She said, looking offended.

"I'll love to witness it." He answered with a smug grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and a comment!
> 
> This chapter is quite short, but I'll try updating on Monday or Tuesday again.
> 
> If you want to know about newer updates or other things, check my twitter @ukyoish


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year later, Senku meets Gen once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Thank you for all the comments <3
> 
> Hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish

Senku still looked back at the memories from those days with some kind of resentment, even a year later. 

He hadn't talked with Gen ever again, and he obviously hadn't tried to go to any of his shows. 

The reminder that he had been banned was enough to make him cringe.

And, worst of all, Kohaku had listened to him and had gotten _a girlfriend_. 

He was still single. 

It was a nightmare. 

Hanging out with Yuzuriha and Taiju? Bad, but _bearable_. They were clingy, but at least they listened to him when he talked. 

But hanging out with Kohaku and Homura _alone_? 

It was as if the blonde girl had a personal revenge against him for laughing at her when she was single. 

They were just _gross_. 

Senku was scowling while Kohaku fed another fry to Homura, who was silently eating without complaint. 

"How did your exams go?" Senku asked, wondering if that would be enough to make Kohaku look at _him_ and not at her girlfriend. 

It didn't work. 

"Good, I guess. And yours?" 

The blond was going to respond when he felt someone tap his shoulder, turning around ready to glare at them for interrupting him. 

It was a young brunet boy with messy hair and bright brown eyes, who was looking at Senku as if he was the scariest and coolest thing in the world. 

"...Yes?" He asked when the boy didn't say a thing for a few seconds.

"Ah! I- I'm Chrome, a first-year student and... I was wondering if you could tutor me?" He was blushing under Senku and the girls' gaze, looking away embarrassed before focusing on the blond again. "Please? I'll pay you."

Senku stayed silent for a few seconds, observing him. "Okay." He finally said, grabbing a napkin and jotting down his mobile phone number on it before handing it to Chrome. "Text me later, we'll figure out a schedule." 

"What?" Kohaku asked, totally taken aback by the blond's reaction. 

The brunet boy took the napkin with a huge smile on his face. "Oh my god, thank you so much." Chrome said before rushing away from them, walking in a happy-bouncy way that made Senku chuckle under his breath. 

" _You_? Being a tutor?" Kohaku asked, still shocked. 

"He was number one at the entrance exam this year, although he was supposedly homeschooled. I'm just curious." Senku shrugged, taking a bite of his food before standing up. "I have to get going. See you."

"See you..." The two girls responded in unison, still confused by what had just happened. 

The blond would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly _panicking_. 

He'd never been good at explaining things, and for someone that had been first in his exams to ask him to tutor him? It definitely wasn't going to be easy. 

Chrome was actually really enthusiastic and polite over text, and by the time Senku arrived home, they had already set the date for their first class. 

That Friday, Senku was going to go over to Chrome's house and he was going to look through all of his materials to get a grip of where the brunet was currently, since they didn't have the same professors. 

Still, when the blond sat down on his desk, he decided to skim through last year's notes to make sure he remembered everything. 

It was definitely going to be interesting, and ever since his dad had moved away for his astronaut training, the blond felt guilty every time he spent _too_ much money —the platinum card was going to be his soon, but _until then_ , it was better if Senku found a way to make easy money, just enough to cover his expenses. 

And, also, part of him was happy to finally have someone to talk about science with, even though Chrome was supposed to be his student and not his _friend_. The blond was excited to have someone to share his passion with nonetheless.

Hopefully, everything went well and he didn't _fuck up_ as always. He had faith in himself (just a bit). 

Friday couldn't come soon enough.

———

The train ride to Chrome's house was filled with stress, because even though Senku had acted as if he was chill and not nervous _at all_ , he was dying a little inside. 

At least today he wasn't going to have to teach him anything, they were just going to look over Chrome's notes from this year. 

Still, Senku didn't know why, but he had the feeling that something wasn't going to go right today, and it was getting _overwhelming_. 

It was like a little voice at the back of his mind telling him to cancel the plans and go back home, but he just waved it off and repeated to himself that everything was going to go fine. 

Because it was, right...?

Chrome didn't live really far from his house, so thankfully the blond knew the neighbourhood he was in. 

Following the directions on the map that his phone showed him, he managed to arrive at Chrome's building without getting lost. 

He stood by the door for a few seconds, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He didn't know _why_ , but the sensation that something was not right was stronger than ever. 

Senku ignored his instincts telling him to run away and pressed the intercom button. 

The door instantly opened and he stepped inside, walking as calmly as he could to the elevator. 

He was aware of how tense he was on his way up, eyes fixed on the countdown to the 12th floor.

Senku took another deep breath when he arrived at Chrome's floor, looking down both sides of the hallway. 

It was a modern building, probably recently built, and by the faint voices and music, he could hear he guessed a lot of students lived there. 

He turned around when he heard a door open, seeing Chrome at the end of the hallway, waving at him. "Senku! Hi!" The brunet was looking really excited, a huge smile on his face and eyes shining. 

The blond forced a smile while he walked down the corridor, awkwardly standing in front of him. "How are you?" 

"Very excited!" Chrome exclaimed, _beaming_ and making Senku feel even worse for almost cancelling the class. 

"Oh! Please, come inside." The brunet boy let him step into the apartment, closing the door behind them.

He smiled, taking his shoes off before looking around the place.

It wasn't too big, kinda cluttered, nothing you wouldn't expect from a student's apartment, but there was something so _cozy_ about it, that it made Senku feel automatically better than before, the tension leaving his body a bit. 

He turned around to tell Chrome he really liked his apartment when his gaze met a pair of deep blue, _cold_ eyes. 

Senku froze. 

It was the first time he was so close to him since... 

"And this is Gen, my roommate!" Chrome said with a smile, apparently oblivious to the way the boy was staring at Senku as if he wanted to _rip his head off_.

"...Do you guys know each other?" The brunet asked after a few uncomfortable seconds in silence, where Senku just stared at Gen _totally horrified_. 

"We don't," Gen smiled at his roommate, looking back at the blond. "But..." He tilted his head slightly, lost in thought.

"Doesn't our dear Senku here look like a vegetable?" 

"Huh?!" The blond exclaimed, frowning at him. 

Chrome chuckled and walked over to Gen's side, just to study Senku from his point of view. 

"Like a leek." He mumbled concentrated, and Gen smiled pleased, ignoring the blond's anger. 

"Exactly!" He smiled back at Senku, in a cheesy and _terribly_ charming way that would've had him on his knees if it wasn't for the anger he was feeling. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an assignment to finish." He said before disappearing into his room and leaving them alone.

"Your flatmate is Gen Asagiri." Senku said, gaze still fixed on where the boy had been standing mere seconds ago. 

Chrome just shrugged. "The guy he was previously living with dropped out, so he just put an ad online. I reached out to him and we got along fine, so I ended up moving in." He saw Senku's surprised face and he frowned, confused. "Why?" 

The blond shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Nothing, I—" For a second he glanced back to Gen's bedroom door, scared that he was listening. "I've heard some crazy rumours about him, that's all." 

"Oh," Chrome waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever you heard, it's not true. I've never met someone as boring as him." 

That at least made Senku snort, following the brunet to his room and closing the door behind him. "So, no european royalty descendant who is magically gifted?" The blond asked with a smile, curiously eyeing Chrome, who just sat down at his desk. 

"Nothing. I guess he's just a really charming person that somehow manages to swoon everyone." The brunet sighed dreamily. "He's so cool..."

Senku stayed silent for a few seconds, looking at Chrome with an expression that screamed _Is that so?_ , but before they talked more about Gen —which would only make him even _more_ uncomfortable—, the blond shook his head and made his way to his desk. 

"Okay, let's go over what you've learnt so far."

———

Weirdly enough, Senku fell into a routine. 

Every Wednesday and Friday he went to Chrome's house, they went over what he'd learnt that week, and then he spent one hour or two extra just _talking_ with him. 

They got along really well, and even though Senku was tutoring him, he considered Chrome more of a friend than anything else. 

His curiosity towards Gen, on the other hand, was starting to get bigger by the day. 

After their last encounter, he hadn't talked with him —not even a single word. 

Still, he saw Gen from time to time, cooking something, just lying on the sofa looking at his phone or watching a film, which was just /too mundane/ for someone like him. 

The biggest mystery, though, was his bedroom. 

Chrome didn't talk about it much, just some mention here and there about _how he wasn't allowed to enter his room._

Now, okay, even though they got along well Gen could be a really private person about his surroundings, but there was a line between not letting his flatmate invade his room and _not letting him even peek inside it._

"So you've _never_ seen it?" Senku asked again, baffled, and the brunet just shook his head. 

"I don't even know how it looks like." Chrome shrugged, taking another sip of his beer. 

"That's... crazy." The blond leaned back on the chair, lost in thought. "And did he explicitly tell you _not_ to enter?" He knew he should drop the subject, but his curiosity was bigger. 

"He basically told me he'd rip my head off if he ever found out I'd entered his room without permission. It _did_ feel like a threat." Chrome waved his hand around, as if it wasn't something _concerning_.

Senku wanted to ask a thousand more questions, but he decided it was better to stop thinking about it. 

Entering Gen's room was an _interesting_ thought, but he knew the boy would do way worse things to him if he ever found out.

And he already hated him, so he didn't want Gen to hate him even _more_. 

But still, sometimes he caught _glimpses_ , like one time where the blond was walking over to the bathroom and Gen going back from the kitchen. Senku peeked as casually as he could, but—

It was completely dark.

And that would've been completely normal, except for the fact that it was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still shining bright. 

He didn't ask Chrome about it until a few days later, and his friend just shrugged. "He sleeps at odd hours, sometimes. Probably we'd just woken him up from his nap." The brunet explained, and even though Senku wasn't convinced, he didn't ask more. 

There were other times when the room wasn't completely dark, but he hadn't managed to see much of it; just a bed with black sheets, nothing else. 

He was _dying_ of curiosity, and the temptation of sneaking into Gen's room whenever he wasn't home was _too big_ , but still— 

Some part of him constantly told him he had to respect him. And if Gen didn't want to be involved with him in any way, he'd have to accept it and move on. 

Or at least try to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and a comment! 
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chrome gets way too drunk at the party and Senku has to bring him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, friendly reminder that this fic is being written on twitter. Lots of dialogue, you know. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish

"So, are you coming to the party on Thursday?" Kohaku asked at the other end of the line. 

She had called Senku randomly out of boredom, but it was nice to have her talk about her classes as background noise for studying. 

The blond looked up from his notes when he processed the quest, frowning. "Who goes out partying on a _Thursday_?" 

Kohaku snorted. "Next Friday is a holiday, idiot." 

"Oh," the blond mumbled, focusing back on his notes. 

"Are you coming or not?" 

"Well, I should study—" 

The blonde girl cut him off. "I'm sorry, I think I need to rephrase it: you're going out with us on Thursday."

Senku could picture her smiling triumphantly, and even though he wanted to say no— 

"Okay," He sighed, shoulders hunching for a second. 

"Really?!" Even Kohaku sounded surprised. 

"If you find me a _really_ cute boy that will take my mind away from studies I won't complain once in the whole night." Senku said monotonously, still reading his textbook. 

She stayed silent for a few seconds. "Well! I know a friend of Homura..."

"I was kidding, Kohaku." The blond exclaimed almost instantly, scolding himself for having even said it out loud. 

"No, you weren't." She snorted. "I'll find you a cute boy, don't worry." 

Senku still regretted his comment a week later, on Wednesday, while all of them were sitting on a bench outside. The weather was too good to stay inside the library, so the girls had insisted on going outside to enjoy the sun for a bit. 

"Have you invited him to the party?" Kohaku asked suddenly. Everyone turned around to look at Chrome, who was happily walking towards them. 

"I haven't." Senku shrugged, looking back at her. 

"Chrome! You are coming with us to the party tomorrow, aren't you?" She asked as soon as the brunet approached them. 

"...Am I?" He asked confused, looking at everyone before sitting down next to Senku. 

"Yes!" Taiju exclaimed enthusiastically.

Chrome just shrugged, smiling innocently. "Okay. It'll be my first university party though." 

"That's okay." Kohaku grinned at him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "There's always a first time for everything." She winked at him when the brunet's eyes widened, chuckling devilishly when Yuzuriha lightly slapped her arm. 

"Have you ever gotten drunk?" Senku asked, making the brunet turn his attention back to him. 

Chrome thought about it for a second before answering. "Not really. I've never drunk anything apart from beer." 

"Oh, then we're going to have _so_ much fun." The blonde girl smiled like the Cheshire cat. Before she could say anything else that would scare Chrome even _more_ , Senku grabbed his friend's arm and forced him to stand up. 

"Come on. We'll have to get going towards the science building or we'll be late." 

"Oh— Yeah." The brunet just waved everyone goodbye and followed Senku. "Are you going to the party too?" He asked, suddenly feeling enthusiastic again. 

"I am." The blond sighed.

He didn't know why, but he had the feeling it wasn't going to be his best night.

———

Senku should start listening to his instincts. 

The party was not necessarily _bad_ , but Yuzuriha and Taiju, Homura and Kohaku were too busy dancing and Chrome...

The blond wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the night he'd struck up a conversation with everyone here.

And worst of all, everyone offered Chrome alcohol. _And he took it._

"How many people from uni do you know?!" Senku asked as soon as one of them walked away. The brunet took a sip of his new drink before smiling up at him. 

"I don't know why, but a lot of people know me!"

God. He already sounded _too_ drunk. 

The blond was about to tell him he should stop drinking when Kohaku ran up to him, a huge smile on her face. 

"Senku! I have a pretty boy who wants to meet you." She said enthusiastically. 

He stared at her for a few seconds. "What?"

"Yes! Come on." Before he could say anything the blonde girl grabbed his arm and dragged him away from Chrome. Senku stared worried at how the brunet downed his whole glass of vodka mixed with some fruit juice in one go. 

"I shouldn't leave..." His voice trailed off when he saw who they were walking up to. 

He couldn't be much older than Senku since he was at the party, but he looked _way_ older, and he was _way_ too tall. 

His hair was long and dark, the same colour as the eyes that were looking at the blond with interest. 

Could he even be real? His face was _too perfect_ to be real. His features were soft but at the same time he looked _tough_ , and—

God, what were those _lashes_? He definitely wasn't real. 

Senku was pulled out of his daze when Kohaku pushed him in front of the boy. He had to look _up_ at him, and that made him feel intimidated for a second, but before he could run away his friend talked.

"Senku, this is Tsukasa." She said with a huge smile, the hand on his back softly pushing him closer to the other boy. "I'll leave you two alone now." 

Both of them stayed silent for a moment, Senku awkwardly rocking back and forth on his heels, until Tsukasa cleared his throat and talked. "So, you're a second-year student?" 

"Oh, yes." The blond leaned against the wall, looking up at him. "I study both chemistry and physics." Tsukasa nodded. "And you?"

"Finances." The brunet answered, awkwardly smiling at him. 

The conversation didn't get any _better_ , and even though Senku knew Tsukasa was a good guy and he was probably interested in him since Kohaku had insisted on the blond meeting him...

He had kept an eye on Chrome the whole time, and his friend was _swaying_ on his spot. 

Tsukasa was telling him about his sister's graduation last year or something like that, but the blond's attention was fixed on his friend, as if he was a film spectator watching how the main character was going to _fuck everything up royally_ and— 

Yeah. The next second, Chrome was emptying his stomach on the carpet. 

"I'm sorry, but I have to—" Senku didn't even finish his sentence, just darted towards his friend and helped him not fall down into his own puke. "You drank _way_ too much, buddy." 

Chrome tried pushing him away, shaking his head. "I didn't! I feel great!" 

"Let's go outside." Senku sighed, pushing his friend towards the door, ignoring everyone's gazes on them. 

"I'm not that drunk." The brunet slurred once they stepped outside, unable to even _walk_ straight. 

Senku grabbed his shoulders and made him look up at him. "Are you feeling better now?" 

His friend stayed silent for a second, eyes unfocused, until his cheeks puffed out. 

Fortunately, the blond understood what was about to happen and he stepped aside, just when Chrome started puking again. 

"God, how much did you have for dinner?" The blond said disgusted, but one of his hands was resting on his friend's back to give him support. 

"I promise I'm great." Chrome wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, which almost made Senku gag too, but the brunet stumbled and almost fell to the floor, if it wasn't for his hand on Chrome's back.

"I have to get you home." The blond sentenced, not even flinching when Chrome softly punched his chest. 

"But I want to stay at the partyyyy," He pouted, looking up at Senku —well, not really _looking_ , because his eyes were closed. 

"If you wanted to stay you should've thought about it twice before drinking everything you laid your eyes on." The blond scolded him while he took out his phone and called Kohaku. 

No answer. He groaned, trying with Yuzuriha and Taiju, but they didn't answer either. 

"Fuck." Senku whispered, turning around and finding Chrome sitting down on the ground, eyes closed. "No, you can't fall asleep here." He grabbed his shoulders, slightly shaking them to keep him awake. "I'm getting you home, okay?" The blond grunt, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him to his feet. 

"I'm tired." Chrome mumbled, resting his head against Senku's shoulder. 

"Yeah, I know. But let's get you to your bed first." He sighed, making the brunet wrap his arm around his shoulders, helping him walk. 

Thankfully, they were able to get on the last bus to Chrome's house, which was a few stops away from where the party was taking place. 

They spent twenty minutes in silence, the brunet dozing off against Senku's shoulder while the blond texted his friends to tell them he was probably going to sleep at Chrome's or directly go home from there. 

"Come on," Senku mumbled while helping the brunet get out of the bus, trying not to stumble to the ground. 

"Hey, Senku." Chrome slurred, wrapping his arms around the blond's neck and hugging him. "You know I love you, right?" 

He smelled like puke. Senku was about to suffer a stroke.

"I love you too." He sighed, patting his back. If he didn't, he definitely wouldn't be here. "Let go, come on." 

"You're the _best_ tutor and friend one could have, and you're so intelligent, and even though you're weirdly obsessed with Gen and he's also weirdly obsessed with you—" He was cut off by Senku abruptly pulling him away. 

"Let's go, Chrome. Where are your keys?" 

He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear _any_ of it.

The brunet pulled his keys out of his pocket. After grabbing them, Senku tried his best to drag him to the door without both of them falling to the ground. 

"I think you should know that Gen—"

"I don't want to know, Chrome." The blond cut him off, fiddling with his keys and trying to find out which one opened the building door. 

"Okay, you don't want to know." Chrome repeated, resting his head on his shoulder. "But when you come back to me asking me why the hell didn't I tell you—" 

"There we go." Senku cut him off again, opening the door and softly pushing him inside. 

"I want to sleeeep," Chrome softly whimpered when Senku helped him into the elevator, slumping against one of the walls. 

"Soon." The blond sighed, praying for this to end soon. 

"And you don't listen to me." He pouted, looking at his friend.

Senku sighed, rubbing his temples. "Okay, tell me." 

"No, I don't want to anymore." The brunet looked away childishly. 

"Chrome..." His voice trailed off when the elevator doors opened, and he sighed again, grabbing his friend's arm. "Come on." 

He dragged him down the hall, stopping at the door before grabbing the keys and opening it slowly, afraid of waking up Gen. 

Chrome, instead, had other plans. 

"Gen!" He opened the door as if it definitely _wasn't_ 2am, storming into the living room and throwing himself on the boy's arms, pouting while looking up at him. "Senku forced me to come home." 

Gen stared down at his flatmate with confusion before chuckling low. "Are you drunk?" 

The sound made the blond's stomach _turn._

But, as much as he wanted to thirst over him right now, there were two more impending questions in his mind. 

One, why the hell was Gen awake at 2am?

And two, how was Senku going to get home? 

"I'm not." Chrome slurred, stepping away from him and turning around to look at the blond. "And I _hate_ you." He said before tumbling towards his bedroom, followed by the telltale sound of a body dropping down on the bed with a thump. 

Senku and Gen stood in the living room awkwardly, the blond looking everywhere but him. 

"Are you going to stay tonight, or—" 

Before he could stop himself the blond cut him off. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I'll sleep on the sofa." Senku rocked back and forth on his heels, expecting a rejection or some sort of _disgust_ , but Gen just smiled softly and nodded. 

"Of course. I'll get you some sheets and a pillow from Chrome's bedroom." He said before leaving him alone. 

The blond took a deep breath before sitting down on a chair, rubbing his temples and trying to calm down. 

It was okay. It was cool. He was just going to sleep in the same house as Gen, and the magician was treating him as if he hadn't _banned him_ from his shows, and—

"He's completely knocked out." Gen's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and Senku observed dumbfounded how the boy laid the duvet and the pillow on the sofa. 

"Yeah, he emptied his stomach earlier." He mumbled, standing up. 

Gen started taking cushions from the armchairs and putting them on the sofa, and Senku stepped just a bit closer to him. 

"I really— I think I'll be fine with that, thank you." 

Gen turned around to look at him, and even though the blond was _terrified_ , he held his gaze.

"Are you going to sleep with those clothes on?"

Senku looked down at his clothes for a second. "Well, I don't have anything else—" 

"I'll get you a t-shirt or something." Gen said, waving his hand around before doing something the blond wouldn't have imagined even in his best dreams. 

He entered his _own_ room.

The blond stayed frozen in place, his brain trying to process it. 

Was he going to wear Gen's clothes? 

_Was Gen going to give him his clothes to sleep in?_

Oh god. He was going to puke. 

"Here you go." He forced himself to _move_ and grab the grey sweatpants and plain white t-shirt. 

"Thanks." He muttered, trying his best not to blush. 

"Well," Gen pursed his lips, looking at the sofa before looking back at him. "Goodnight." 

"Yeah, goodnight." The blond muttered, evading his gaze. 

He watched him walk back towards his bedroom, the clothes pressed tightly against his chest, when Gen turned around again. 

"Oh, and Senku?" 

The blond perked up instantly, and for a second he internally _cringed_. He was supposed to hate him, why was he acting like that? 

"Yeah?" 

"Thanks for taking care of Chrome."

Senku's body relaxed, and he brushed his hair out of his face, looking away and trying not to blush. "Of course." 

The door to Gen's room closed, and he was left alone. 

If the boy smelled of anything distinctive the clothes hadn't picked it up, which made the blond feel a bit sad, but _hey_ , he'd take anything at this point. 

The sofa was comfier than he'd anticipated, and even though he'd thought at first that he wasn't going to be able to sleep at all, thankfully he was cozy enough to fall into a very deep sleep in a matter of minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and a comment!
> 
> Follow me on twitter @ukyoish


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